1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf balls.
Specifically, the present invention relates to colored golf balls.
2. Description of the Related Art
A golf ball includes a core and a cover. A general golf ball is colored in white. The coloring is achieved by dispersing titanium dioxide in the cover. The hiding power of titanium dioxide is high. The color of the core is hidden by titanium dioxide. The coloring may be achieved by dispersing a white pigment in a paint layer.
Most golf balls are white. Thus, a golf player may falsely recognize a ball of another player as an own ball. A golf player who has hit a ball of another player is penalized.
A mark is printed on a golf ball. The mark includes a brand name and a ball number. A golf player can distinguish an own ball from a ball of another player by a brand name. A golf player can distinguish an own ball from a ball of another player also by a ball number. A golf player approaches a ball and distinguishes the ball on the basis of a mark. Distinction based on a mark is difficult from a long distance.
JP10-155937 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,279) discloses a golf ball having a colored cover. The golf ball is referred to as “color ball”. In the color ball, a large amount of a pigment is dispersed in the cover. The color ball can easily be distinguished from a white ball.
JP2007-160087 (US2007/0135234) discloses a golf ball having a cover containing a light-collecting dye. The golf ball has excellent visibility.
JP2009-45347 (US2009/0054176) discloses a golf ball in which a cover is colored and a paint layer contains a polarizing material. The golf ball exhibits an appearance having a polarization property. The golf ball can easily be distinguished from a white ball.
JP2010-246642 (US2010/0261550) discloses a golf ball in which a cover contains a fluorescent pigment and a mid layer also contains a fluorescent pigment. The cover exhibits the same type of a hue as that of the hue of the mid layer.
In recent years, color balls have been popularized. There have been many cases where a plurality of golf players in one party use color balls. Meanwhile, when the hue of a golf ball of one golf player is the same as the hue of a golf ball of another golf player, the one golf player cannot distinguish the own golf ball from the golf ball of the other golf player. Thus, the one golf player needs to use a golf ball whose hue is different from the hue of the golf ball of the other golf player. Golf players desire golf balls having excellent distinguishability. An object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball having excellent distinguishability.